Zur Theorie des Gesetzes der...

PLANCK, Max.

Johann Ambrosius Barth, Leipzig 1900 - Rare first printing, and a very fine copy, of the founding document of quantum theory, "marking the dividing... More

Johann Ambrosius Barth, Leipzig 1900 - Rare first printing, and a very fine copy, of the founding document of quantum theory, "marking the dividing line between classical and modern physics" (Norman). In this celebrated first announcement of quantum theory, Planck derived his radiation law based upon the assumption that energy is emitted and absorbed in discrete quanta. Dibner 166; PMM 391; Horblit/Grolier 26a; Evans 47; Sparrow 162. "In this important paper he stated that energy flowed not in continuous, indefinitely divisible currents, but in pulses or bursts of action [or quanta]" (Dibner). Planck determined a unit of energy in a system showing a natural frequency in definite quanta and proposed a constant of angular momentum, the value of which is known as &#145;Planck's constant.&#146; This unit of energy enabled the explanation of wave-length, specific heat of solids, photo-chemical effects of light, the orbits of electrons in the atom, the wave lengths of the lines of the spectrum, or Röntgen rays, the velocity of rotating gas molecules, and the distances between the particles of a crystal. "It contradicted the mechanics of Newton and the electromagnetics of Faraday and Maxwell. Moreover it challenged the notion of the continuity of nature" (PMM). "Planck made many contributions to theoretical physics, but his fame rests primarily on his role as originator of the quantum theory. This theory revolutionized our understanding of atomic and subatomic processes, just as Albert Einstein&#146;s theory of relativity revolutionized our understanding of space and time. Together they constitute the fundamental theories of 20th-century physics. Both have forced man to revise some of his most cherished philosophical beliefs, and both have led to industrial and military applications that affect every aspect of modern life" (Roger H. Stuewer, Britannica). Published by the Berlin Physics Society, the first appearance of Planck&#146;s revolutionary work is very rare. (It was later published, in 1901, in the more widely distributed Annalen der Physik). In: Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesselschaft im Jahre 1900, Zeiter Jahrgang, pp. 237-245. The entire volume offered here in a fine contemporary half cloth binding over marbled with gilt spine lettering, rubberstamp from the 'Physikalisches Institut, Universität Jena' to front free end-paper and title. 4to (217 x 148 mm), pp vi 260. A very fine copy. Less